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posted by cmn32480 on Wednesday November 25 2015, @11:43PM   Printer-friendly
from the maybe-save-a-life dept.

Biofilms frequently coat the surfaces of catheters, and of various medical implants and prostheses, where they can cause life-threatening infections. New research at the Sahlgrenska Academy show that coating implants with a certain "activator" can prevent Staphylococcus aureus, the leading cause of hospital-acquired infections, from forming biofilms.

Biofilms are mats of bacteria similar to the plaque that grows on teeth. Biofilms frequently coat the surfaces of catheters, and of various medical implants and prostheses, where they can threaten lives or lead to failure of the implants.

Antibiotics are impotent against biofilms. Now Gothenburg researchers Jakub Kwiecinski, Tao Jin and collaborators show that coating implants with "tissue plasminogen activator" can prevent Staphylococcus aureus, the leading cause of hospital-acquired infections, from forming biofilms.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 26 2015, @12:53AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 26 2015, @12:53AM (#268191)

    i'm not sure what your criteria for comparison is, but if you happened to go to the hospital because you had lung or prostate cancer, heart disease, or were in a road traffic accident, you run the risk of picking up a nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infection.